MT. LEBANON — It was the longest high school soccer game Dave Sylvester had been involved in.

But for the Seneca Valley girls soccer coach and his players, the ride home must have seemed much longer.

After 80 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime decided nothing, the Raiders and the host Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils had to go to the third round of penalty kicks to break a scoreless tie.

There, following a save by Mt. Lebanon's Megan Capozzi on Kate Kelly's penalty kick, the Blue Devils gained a WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff win on Sarah Sharbaugh's goal that beat the Raiders' Catherine Messmer to the goalkeeper's right.

The Blue Devils won the shootout 6-5 and were awarded a 1-0 win.

"We've been working on penalty kicks for the last couple of weeks, and Sarah's one of our top scorers," said Mt. Lebanon coach Pat Vereb. "She was very composed and stuck it in the net."

The first round of penalty kicks ended in a 4-all tie, as Seneca Valley's Karisa Fernandez, Caitlyn Elser, Jessica Meurer and Barbie Rohm all scored.

"We wanted to put what we thought was our best five out there," said Sylvester.

Messmer came out of goal and took the Raiders' fourth penalty kick, but was denied by Capozzi's diving stop.

"She plays the field on her cup team," said Sylvester. "Everybody on the team knows she's pretty good."

After the first round of a shootout, the winner is determined by the team that scores immediately after or before the other team's shot is denied.

SV's Jenny Jergel and Mt. Lebanon's Emily Miller each scored in the second round, making the score 5-5.

It was a tough loss for the Raiders(12-4-4), who endured three key injuries during the game.

SV's leading goal scorer Jessica Meurer, and defenders Alissa Gamelier and Rebecca Pecora all sustained injuries in the first half.

Meurer was the only one to return. Despite the absence of two of its top defenders for much of the game, SV was able to keep the game scoreless.

Messmer's play was a big reason for that. Counting the shootout, the sophomore made eight saves in her first action since September.

"I thought she did a great job," said Sylvester. "She made some great saves out there."

Capozzi needed to make only seven saves. With Meurer noticeably limping for much of the game, the Raiders struggled offensively.

"We knew that Seneca Valley was talented and had some dangerous strikers," said Vereb. "And in the (shootout), anything can happen.

"This was just a ridiculous game between two teams that should be playing in the second round," added Vereb. "But instead, it was a first-round game."

The Blue Devils came within inches of winning the game long before the shootout.

With 12:30 left in the first overtime, the officials ruled that Jergel had used her hands to deflect the ball deep in her team's end of the field. The Blue Devils were awarded a penalty kick, but Carly Lewandowski's attempt hit the right post and the game carried on.

The game was played in frigid temperatures, with light snow falling much of the night.

"Considering all the injuries we had, I think the girls played great," said Sylvester.

The Blue Devils (14-4-2) will play the winner of the Penn-Trafford/Moon game, which is scheduled for today.